The Fire Caller
by Managor
Summary: The tale of a guy named Mark who learns to use his will to control the element fire.
1. Chapter 1

The door cracked open to the large pub, light shining in through the windows and a slight breeze whistling through the cracks of the wood. Noise could be heard from one end of the bar to the other; people talking, glasses sliding around, chairs screeching across the floor , and the barmaid walking to each table taking orders. As she finally reached Mark's table he flagged her down.

"Hey miss", he spurted.

"What can I get you today sir?" she shot back.

"How about...three of your finest beers," Mark turned around in his chair facing his two friends, Sam and David. Just as he turned he could hear bottles being opened as the barmaid slid them to each person across the table. Mark broke the silence,

"Bottoms up," he said cheerily, Sam and David responded with a quick shot of the bottle, and yelled, "First one done is tab free!"

Mark just sat there shaking his head, "You two are nuts." Sam and David slammed their glasses down at the same time.

"DONE!, they shouted in unison. "Hey! I was done first David and you know it!" David didn't feel like arguing so he just nodded.

A couple hours and a few more beers later Mark suggested going home. Sam and David agreed and Mark left the payment on the table. A bell rang as they opened the door to leave; as they started walking home they noticed it was getting late and getting darker and darker; walking through town, the streetlights started flickering on, casting their dim light.

A few steps later, David noticed the lack of Mark beside him, and brought himself and Sam to a halt. When they turned around, they Mark staring down an alley way, and he beckoned them over to where he was standing. Mark started walking down the alley; as Sam and David peeked down, they saw a weirdly lighted cubby hole with a strange red aura around it.

Mark leaned down to pick it up, and Sam darted towards him as she asked, "Are you sure you want to touch that?" Marked grunted and picked it up anyway.

"Thi..This..This is amazing!" he stuttered. He held the object which looked like a perfect star with a perfectly round sphere in the middle. The longer he held it, the warmer his hands got. Eventually he dropped the object; as it shattered he looked at his hands which were bright red and they stung, badly.

Sam and David rushed over to make sure he was ok. Sam grabbed Mark's hands and suggested bandaging them up, which he immediately agreed to.

As they hurried for the house, the ground started shaking; the few trees that were around got their last, dead leaves shaken off, and the streetlights flickered with the vibration. Something swift dashed across the alley ways between them; freezing in their tracks, they looked around.

"What was that?" Sam asked franticly.

"I'm not sure Sam, I'm not sure." David tried not to frighten her anymore then she already was.

"Mark, I think we should keep moving." Sam agreed with David and they kept walking. Sam grabbed Mark by the arms to look at his hands.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm. David peeked around Sam to look at Mark's hands. Mark's arms had faint black outlines over them, and his right hand had four dots; one in each corner of his palm.

"You don't see that every day, or ever for that matter." Sam told herself out loud.

"Mark..What is that?" David knew none of them knew, but he asked anyway.

"I have no idea, but my hands feel like they are on fire.",Mark explained.

"Let's get home, shall we?" Sam nudged.

Sam opened the door letting David and Mark go in; as she heard the wind, she remembered the thing from the alley, and bolted the door shut.

"I think we just need some sleep guys.", Sam suggested.

"Yea I agree.", David replied as he went to his room.

"Mark you going to be ok?", Sam continued, "And are you sure?".

He gave a nod; then went to his room.

Later that next morning, everyone had awakened and went into the kitchen, except Mark. When Mark finally entered the kitchen, Sam and David turned their attention to him. Sam tried to look at Mark's arms but he was wearing long sleeves. David tried to start a conversation and asked,

"So how'd you sleep last night?"

"Pretty good actually, though it was hot as hell in my room.", Mark turned to Sam, "How about you?".

"I slept pretty well too, I guess."

"So let's see those arms!" Sam shouted from nowhere.

"Okay, but I'm telling you I'm fine." Mark said as he took off his shirt. David looked at his arms and gave him an odd look.

"Are you sure?" Mark looked down at his arms; the outlines had now become solid and easily visible.

"What about your hand? Are those dots still there?". Mark opened his palm, and peered; the once small black dots, how now become fiery red, but still small.

"I still say it's not a big deal..I mean really? What's the worst that could happen?"

A few hours later they decided to make a list of things to get from the store, Mark picked up a piece of paper to write a list down on, and it started to slowly burn. He stumbled to throw the paper under the faucet and let cold water cover it. Mark then had instantly regretted his words from earlier. Sam came rushing in to see what all the commotion was about.

"Mark, what was that?" Sam continued, "And why do I smell burning paper?".

"I don't know Sam, why do you?"

"And why is the sink running?" Sam peered into the sink, "What in the world ARE you doing?"

"It just happened, when I picked up the paper!". Mark picked up another piece with his left hand; nothing happened.

"Mark don't be...." Mark cut her off.

"Just watch!" Mark put the paper into his other hand, as it started to burn.

"What the?!" Sam continued, "That isn't possible!"

"This sure as hell ain't a dream Sam!". David walked in. "What's going on here you head cases?" Sam stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh nothing, Mark is just learning magic tricks."

"No I'm not!"

"You guys are.." David got cut off by someone knocking on the door.

"Maybe we should get that."


	2. Chapter 2

Mark grabbed the door handle as David cut him off. "Maybe I should open it, you know, with your arms like that and all."

"Fine, fine. I still say you guys are over reacting." David opened the door; and there stood a fully robed figure in a partially faded red cloak.

"Greetings." A female voice came from the figure that stood still in the doorway.

"Whatcha want, huh?" Sam cut off David, "David! Don't be so rude!" The cloaked lady walked into the house and took off her hood. She stood about five foot, four inches tall, had shoulder length dark brown hair and blue eyes. She took a seat on the couch and Mark walked in.

"Can I help you?" He asked weirdly seeing the woman.

"Yes, actually, my name is Caitlalandien, but you can all me Cait...And yours is?" Mark walked closer to shake her hand.

"My name is Mark." Mark held out his hand and Caitlalandien spotted the marks on his hand; she jumped up with her hand out stretched.

"So what're you here for?"

"Mark, would you follow me please?" Caitlalandien walked into the kitchen. Mark figured he really didn't have a choice and followed her.

"Have a seat." Caitlalandien pulled out a chair and sat down, Mark soon followed. "We have been looking for a Star shaped artifact that was last seen around here. You wouldn't happen to have seen it, would you?" Mark thought hard whether he should tell her or not; he finally decided he might as well, because what's the worst that could happen?

"Yes, the other day… I think two days ago? It was down in an alleyway."

"Did you pick it up or anything?"

"Yeah. It was really hot and I ended dropping it and it shattered."

Caitlalandien stood up, "I'm going to need you, and those other two, to come with me."

"Why?"

"I'll explain it when we get there." Caitlalandien left the kitchen and waited at the door; as Mark came through he told Sam and David to come with them.

They all followed Caitlalandien into an alleyway about a mile away to a large door. Caitlalandien cracked it open. "Follow me." The door led into a dimly lit tunnel with big silver stairs at the end. They walked until they got to the stairs. "Mind your step." Caitlalandien warned them, and they followed her up the stairs to yet another door, identical to the first, except this one was colored; it had evenly been painted with four colors; Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow; with a multi-colored ball of blue on the middle.

Caitlalandien opened the door and put on her hood. "Do not speak unless spoken to, got it?" Mark, Sam, and David all nodded. They continued through the door behind Caitlalandien. When the door closed, it got very dark; they walked really slowly until their eyes adjusted. Walking for another five or so minutes, they saw a big solid black that door when opened, appeared to just be a black hole. When they walked through, they entered into a room with twelve foot ebony pillars and a dragon statue made of ivory in the middle. On the outer edges of the room, four colored chairs, each grouped in front of its respective colored door. Caitlalandien led them over to the red ones and sat them down. "Do not move." The trio held as still as possible. Caitlalandien walked over to the nearest door and knocked four times.

A voice boomed, "Khat ma'gh hunguar?"

Caitlalandien responded, "Caitlalandien meth Ludoir."

The voice boomed back, "You kah entrea!" Caitlalandien grabbed the handle to the door and pulled it open. "Follow me." The trio followed her through the door into a room sixty stories high with a bridge in the middle that was shaped like the object Mark had found. At each of all but two of the stars points was a big round brazier flaming; at the north end, there was a huge throne where a black and red hooded man sat.

When they reached the bridge, the man stood up. "Caitlalandien khat yera thise polupe?"

"Thise yera tha polupe khat fhound thi spheroa." The man stood up. "Greetings."

"Hello..." Mark gave a really long pause. "You probably have many questions, no?"

"I don't know who wouldn't, to be honest." David got a shut-up look from Caitlalandien.

Mark started off with, "Who are you people?"

The hooded man walked towards them. "I am A'dal Kel'zuthad; Keeper of the Sacred Fires."

"I've got a brother a two sisters; My brother, 'Kalthes; Keeper of the Wind', and my sisters, 'Thesis; Keeper of the Frost', And 'Stephaniea; Keeper of the Stone'.

Sam just had to ask, "So then what's the bluish orb on the door for?"

A'dal gave her a quizzical look, "That's for the element of Magic, with the use of every element; you must use the element of magic, which is the power of Arcane." Sam looked stunned. "Mag..Ma..Magic?"

"Yes magic, you see; that sphere Mark picked up, it carried the power to control fire; and when it shattered, it released its power onto the nearest absorption source, which in this case, was Mark."

Mark look puzzled. "How did you know my name? AND! How did you know it shattered?" A'dal lead the over to a book of about fourty thousand pages; flipped it open to the almost end, and said, "Look." Mark started reading the book, he was suprised it was in English too; He finally got to the part he wanted; "The Kel'thaian Spheres." He began reading carefully, and started reading to himself aloud, "_Once every thousand years, four spheres fall to the Earth, thrown by the keeper who holds it. He who breaks the sphere's magical barrier, will be bestowed with the mark of the Lord and power the sphere holds. He will then be brought to the respective spheres lord and keeper; taught how to control the power, and fight the evils who try to destroy it_." Mark paused, thought about what he read, and spurted, "WHOA Whoa! Who said we have the power to fight 'evil'?!".

"You broke the barrier, you do now. Caitlalandien show them to their rooms, please." Caitlalandien nodded, and beckoned them over to a door way behind one of the unlighted braziers. There they entered and saw three more doors, one for them each, in each of them a desk, with a letter, and a closest already full of things they would need.

The letter read, "If you are reading this, you will be trained for the next three months with the most talented warriors. You will begin within two days of reading this."


End file.
